THE DUNSTAN DIGGINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 227, 11 September 1862, Page 5

THE DUNSTAN DIGGINGS.

By the courtesy of the Commissioner of the Gold Fields, we are enabled to lay before our readers the following official report received yesterday from Mr. ICeddell, Sub-Inspector of Constabulary, in charge.of the Clutha Gold Fields. The report was addressed to the Commissioner of Police, but was referred to the Gold Fields' Department:— (Copy,) Poliea'Department, Clutlia Gold Fields, September 4, 1802. Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, containing instructions for my guidance in tho" event of any distress on this fie'.»C" accruing from the wnnt of provisions among the minors, ancl to inform you tlisst up to this present, time no cases of destitution have come under my notice, nor have any been reported to me. The population of this field is daily iiicrMsmef, although but slowly for the hist four davk All those at present on the fiel'.i are settling down BtcmUlv to work, and now occupy both sH<vi of t!ie Molyn^ux from the junction of tho Manulierikia to the Kawnrau'. As the distant between thcya two point* v about twenty (20) mill1*, ami there are as yet no menus of cimsinir tlio rivers save by one boat opjiruile Messr*. StroJe and Freie's hoinosie.-wl, it is very diliioult to attend to.the miners' di-tjmfcs over so wi*J<*a field. The divings are as yet 'confined to the banks of the Molyneux, near the waters" elw, aud cv«?rv av.-iil-able spot is taken up, aril should any miner who is working study leave his claim to procure provisions, he is nearly eeiTain U> find it occupie i on ins return by some new corner. Dispute* are thus of frequent occurrence, and more so at that portion of the field near the junction of the Kawarau.- Tin; claims are ■so eauly -'worked "out that 'parties- could, with impunity '-'jump" a claim at thiitspot, ami before the Warden or other ofii;;er could lie informed of the circumstance by the .injured inrty (who would have to travel on fe>t"sixteen miU-s----to the boat,) if on the west batik, and then two niilcM to the camp, they could'have cleaved the dipnted irround of tho greater portion, \t not id! of the auriferous deposit. I have five or sir such ease-; repot ted ti me daily, in which my intnrierenco h sought, and i.s in fact, necessary for the public p«a<e. "" If tin" popul/ition still continue to i.-icrca-ie, the wnnt of -t justice willbe prreatly felt. At'present 1 have frequent occasion to <le<:He on dispute* between mtn W for the preservation of order, ami where the ju-tid'of the <v.se is ek-arlv doiinrd by the: .mien anil re<'ii'litions of the pyll fi.'l U, I liave cuTielout tin..*rules, but. amongst such a large population, ono must expect to find some troublesome fihattiur^rs. and in the event of )i')jiu!ute refuvtlt'i abide l>y tlte law In such fa-ies, I consider it indispensably nwessarvthtt some magistrale should be nearer the fieM than at preiour, Mr. Januu Murisou beiu- the only Justice la the neighbourhood. I wuiihi b<>« to recommend for the consideration of the Government the n<ve^ity for re*ervincr f->r mi!>li<use, the site, at wltieh a superior de^-ription of li'nito is found, near the mouth of the Gor;-p The seam tit present is only worked from th* b:mk of th..Uolyneux, and I am'iiifortne-l ou rrliaUe authority^ that when the river mw« "(probably in the farlv part of Isovemcer), this will no longer be practicable and it must be worke I by a shaft from above. | I have also to inform you that I have this day i marked out a pio.to of ground which I i:roj>o«€ to br- | reserved for camp purposes Htiated near the mouth of the Gone?, and in a ?uittble po*i:ion. Up to this time only one trol.l buyer (Mr. De Leon') has arrived, and ho has nmmned"at Mr. .Shennan'< station. : ■ Wlien he takes up his quarters'on tS/» ditrjfiri"*, u'JjieJi will bo to-morrow, 1 expect that a r?ar>-- e quantity will hn offered. His j.riei; at first was I."it 150 s.. but. is now raised to &X per ouaeo. This apparently low fifruro h, he .states, o*in'.f to the h-ve proportion of b!nck sand, and iron pyrites, whicha;U<--" • to the gold and escape the' w.uhin^ m the cmdie. T-havo no doubt that many of the miner* will bWi their gold-in the hope that the price will J-Ue-'■•ln relation to tho future, I would report tint 1 hs,ve received applications from three parti*** far permission to construct rices far the working of qui-:ksllvf:r crruliea, and timt, with the exception of some idlers, the . whole of th<; miners npptar sanu'uine ah to the prospects of tin ftdd— many .pro-;-peeling parties of-two's and three's are wourin» 'he neighborhood, and I" hope soon to b<? iv the position to report the discovery of new (jrouml. Fn conclusum I itavf t!ir> honor to bring-under your notice the necessity of est:tb!ishin- jx^tal communication. .The letters fro.n Duuedin have-up to this time been convoyed by private hands. A man has hitherto Yen jiaid by the settler-! for the con-vr-ynnce of a fortnightly "wail, but this man's contract expires to-morrow. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant Jacksok KEnniu.r-, Sub-Inspc-tor r,t fonstabuiarv, in charge ■of .Clutha gold-fields. Tn addition to the above report, we are in possession of some interesting particulars from private person", upon whom we can rely, who returned-yesterday. One who left the ditf•rin£3 on Thursday .last," had traversed the workings from. N Tcw Chum Point, otherwise known as the Black "Rock, for ahout six miles up th? river. The diggers were scattered along both hanks, anil the majority of those at work seemed satisfied, but others were loud in their complaints. -Many evidently did not know how, or had not the means, to save the fine Sold. M-my even of the cradles were very inefficient.-. "A lar^e number of cradles had" gone up from the old riigfjinjjs, and our inf.)rniant expects that by this time there will he a pretty good supply of thcsi-> indispensable requisites. He sa\N that a^ far as he saw, the working was almost exclusively confined to the river; but he heard that some parties had been sinking in the bank, and hud found a nu^et of 1 dwt, which had been exhibited at Shennan's. There was also mention of a fre^h rush some six miles lower down the river, but he had no definite information about it. He saw great quantities of provisions goinrr up, and expected that-a sufficient."supply would soon be to hand. When he left, the scarcity still existed, flour being worth 2s. per lb; sugar, 2s. Gtl.; candles, Gs.; matches, Od. per box ; tea, ss. and Gs.; salt, 6d.; brandy. Is. a nobbier, but rather strong of the water. Sheep were to be had at from 503. to 60a. a head. The scarcity of timber was even jrreater than that of provisions. As much as 305., or even more, was given for gin cases, and a good-sized board that had been used at the sheepwash, was sold for .£2O. Tents were fixed up with shovel handles and other contrivances, there being positively no sticks fit for the purpose, nothing but small scrub fit for nothing but fuel. As an amusing instance of the shifts people have been put to for want of wood, he mentioned that a barber who had managed to fix up his tent could not get the stuff to make a seat for his customers. The small scrub although sufficient for fuel for present purposes would not last long, but the lignite was understood to be of good quality, and obtainable in any quantity. It had not yet come into use. There was a report that two men had been taken for horse stealing, but it was not known for a positive fact. Horses were in demand almost as much among the people settled on the ground as they had been in Duncdin for the rush, for they were needed for getting about wirh provisions, &c It was said that one horse had heen killed by falling down a precipitous bank into the river. Several dead horses were to be seen on the j road up. There were a variety of reports of men lost and dying in the snow, but none of these had been confirmed, the only cisc at all authentic was that of a miner who missed his mates and was

found by another party who had also missed their mates, and brought into Campbell Thompson's station. He had been lost for a day or two.

, . At Campbell Thompson's station, oats were being sold at 40s. per bushel. None were to be had beyond. About ten miles beyond Campbell Thompson's, bread was to be had at 4s. a loaf. It was taken up from Dunedin. There were plenty of reports of fresh discoveries in different localities. For example, it was stated that a fair prospect had been obtained, at Murison's station, and that something had a i so been found at Valpy's, but not much weight is to be attached to reports of this character.